Perception – Episode 8

” I am sorry dear, i’ll make it up to you.Bye love”, he replied and ended the call . Lola, unaware that the call had ended continued talking until she realised that there was no reply from Jason’s end.

She looked at her phone and sighed. “I have to go to Nigeria. It’s possible that he is dating someone else and I am now a long distant side chick”,she said to herself .

She thought of calling Amoge to ask her if Jason was dating someone else but she didn’t want to appear insecure toher.Besides they were still working on getting their friendship back on track.

Lola picked up her laptop and booked a flight that would take her to Lagos in a couple of weeks.She didn’t mind spending only a few days in Nigeria provided she fixed the problems in her relationship with Jason.

She became excited at the thought of paying him a surprise visit.

“I hate long distance relationships “she said to herself and printed out her ticket.The days went by so fast Jason woke up early on Saturday morning to go and play tennis at the recreational centre close to his house.

A few minutes after he got there, Olivia arrived as well. She wore a white fitted tshirt on a short white pleated skirt which showed off her straight, long model legs.

She got to the tennis court to meet Jason. “Are you ready to get beaten by a lady ?”she said to him excitedly .”Let’s see your skills, don’t cry when the tennis pro trashes you “he said with a smile.

They had a light breakfast after playing tennis while they discussed. Olivia paused for a minute and said to him” these past few months have been great.I enjoy our friendship”.She looked at him in a shy manner.

” I must admit that I enjoy your company as well”.As he was trying to say what was on his mind, his phone rang.Hi Jason”,Arinze said over the phone.

” Please I need you to rush to the house quickly. Amoge sent me a text saying that she has a fever and severe abdominal cramps.I am not in Lagos at the moment and I don’t want to scare my parents because of the pregnancy. Can you please take her to the hospital? I will return as soon as possible”. ” Sure ‘bro’ ” he replied.

“I need to leave now, Amoge needs help urgently “she said to Olivia.” I will come with you “she said to him anxiously . “Okay but I have to stop by the house briefly to change into something clean” he said to her. “Cool” she replied .

Jason quickly went into his house to get dressed while Olivia waited for him in her car.She drove behind him when he got into his car.

They got to Amoge’s house and Jason headed to the door of the house.Jason quickly pressed the door bell. He tried calling her but he saw Lola’s incoming calls.

He remembered that he forgot to call Lola back when he saw her missed calls after playing tennis.” Anyway I will call her later , let me handle this emergency first “he said to himself.

Olivia stood beside Jason at the front door waiting for the door to be opened.The door opened and she saw them standing before her. She couldn’t believe her eyes. Her countenance fell.

“Who is this lady he came with to Amoge’s house” she wondered .” What are you doing here Lola? “

Jason asked angrily as he pulled her aside briefly to a corner.

“Maybe if you picked up my calls, you would have known that I just came into Lagos ” , she replied sarcastically.

“I have been busy sorry . Where’s Amoge? “, he asked. “Who is that lady you came with ” she asked with curiosity. “A friend”, he replied hastily and said” tell Amoge that I am here to take her to the hospital”.

Amoge came to the living room. She greeted the guests in pains . Olivia said “get well soon dear , don’t worry the doctors will take care of you .I will come and see you later “.

She left Amoge’s house because she wasn’t comfortable with the body language of Jason and the strange lady who opened the door for them.

Amoge was finally taken to her hospital . A doctor examined her and requested for some laboratory tests and an obstetric scan .Arinze called regularly to monitor her progress. His last call was to inform them that he was close to Lagos from Ibadan.

She was admitted for proper medical care and follow up. The blood results revealed severe malaria and mild anaemia. Amoge was worried. She wondered how she got bitten by so many mosquitoes.

Arinze got to the hospital .He quickly went to the private ward where she was receiving treatment.

Amoge smiled as soon as she saw him.He sat by her bedside. “How are you feeling now he asked?” I will be fine, though I still need to have a scan done” she replied.

Arinze thanked Jason for his help.”You didn’t tell me that Lola is around “he said to him as he greeted Lola. “Sorry for to him as he greeted Lola. “Sorry for stressing you guys “. Arinze said to Lola and Jason .”It’s no stress at all”, they replied.

The nurse came to inform Amoge that it was time for the scan.Jason and Lola took their leave and promised to visit again. Arinze held Amoge’s hand as they went to the scan room.

There was silence as the doctor scanned Amoge. Arinze tried to hide his anxiety by smiling intermittently at his wife.Finally,the doctor said to them.” The babies are fine”.Amoge looked at the doctor with surprise. “Did you say babies” Arinze asked.

“Yes sir , your wife is pregnant with a set of twins” , he said to them . “Would you like to hear their heart beats” , he asked.” Sure!” they said excitedly. “I assume you also want to know the gender of the babies”.

Arinze looked at Amoge. Amoge shook her heard in disapproval. “No I want it to be a surprise”.Arinze was disappointed but said doc “I guess we’ll have to wait till they are delivered “.

The ride back to Jason’s house was unusually quiet.Jason expected Lola to ask a million questions about the strange woman or possibly query him about their issues.

The stolen glances at her revealed Lola looking out of the car window in silence. When he wanted to break the silence by asking about her flight, there was no response. She was sleeping like a baby.

He looked at her briefly with the corner of his eyes and placed his right hand on her left hand.He knew that he loved Lola,he never stopped loving her but he wondered if love was enough to make their relationship work.

He allowed her sleep till they got to his house. They both went inside and she quickly freshened up and laid on his bed. She was so tired that she slept off almost immediately.

She was woken up by the aroma of something delicious coming from the kitchen. As she tried getting up from the bed,Jason came into the room with a tray containing a plate of noodles.

Jason’s noodles could wake a dead man up.He had a special way of preparing it.The shrimps, carrots, green pepper, tomatoes, pepper and onions which he normally stir fries before mixing with the noodles made it so delicious.

She went to wash the dishes in the kitchen. While she was cleaning up the kitchen, Jason came to join her.

She didn’t say a word to him till she finished what she was doing then she went to the living room. Jason followed her and sat beside her.

Lola turned to face him. “Sweetie, who was that lady who accompanied you to Amoge’s house” she asked with a fake smile on her face.

” Are we still on this matter?” he replied with a mischievous smile on his face.” She is just a friend” he said .”Really! “She replied.

“Okay let me rephrase the question ” she replied .”Jason, who’s that lady to you?,Lola asked with a frown on her face.

“She is just a friend. Stop asking me such questions please” , he replied.

Lola stood up in anger and said” so this is the person responsible for your coldness towards me. You are always too busy for me , you end my calls abruptly and forget to call back. We don’t even talk more than 10 minutes a day nowadays”.

” Are you seriously blaming me for what happened to us.Incase you have forgotten Lola, you lied to me about stealing my sister in law; Amoge from her ex. Gosh! you even denied them in my presence.Who does that? ” he replied with irritation.

“Jason I apologised to you a million times. Don’t you make mistakes?. So you started dating someone else to punish me? ” She asked angrily.

“You are the one making premature conclusions” he retorted bluntly. “We hang out once in a while that’s all” he said .

“So why did you bring her to Amoge’s house? ” , Lola asked . “Olivia is her friend ” he shouted.

” Oh! her name is even Olivia.Tell me! do you go around bringing other random friend’s of Amoge to her house. Did she ask you to gather her friends for her?” ,she asked angrily.

“You are lying to me Jason. I can even see it in your eyes” she said to him .

” What would I gain by lying my dear.Yes I was angry with you for a while as expected, but I never cheated on you.Yes !she likes me but I don’t see her that way.I see her as a hangout buddy” he said to her with a soft voice .

Jason stood before Lola .He put his arms around her shoulders and drew her closer to him.

“It is you that I love”.”Look at me Lola!. She hesitated initially but eventually gave in .

He looked into Lola’s eyes and said “It is you that thrills my heart. It is you that makes my day complete. I have been working on a big project for a month now which I explained to you but I guess you don’t believe me”

“I am sorry” she said as she quickly cleaned the tears running down her cheeks.

“Every relationship has its ups and downs dear.Ours is still a work in progress. Our love is like fireworks babe, it’s not ordinary “,he said to her.

” I am willing to make us work” she said to him. “Even if it means relocating before the year runs out. I am actually tired of living abroad”, Lola said .

He took her into his arms and gave her a soft kiss on her lips . “I have missed you darling” he said into her ears.”I love you Jason “she replied .

Nicky finished her lectures for the day and walked towards the library. She had some tests coming up soon that she had to study for .She got to the library and picked a secluded section to study.

Nicky loved studying. She was considered the nerd of her family and thankfully, her hardwork paid off as she graduated with a first class from the university.

She arranged her study materials before her and got down to business. After an hour of studying she went to the book shelves to get a textbook.

On her way back to her seat, she noticed that someone else had joined her reading table.She saw only a pile of books opposite hers without the person who kept them on the table.

“So much for reading alone”, she said to herself and sat down. She was engrossed with what she was studying that she didn’t notice when the owner of the books came to seat in front of her.

“Hi Nicky”, a male voice said to her. “Hi William,what are you doing here?”,she asked with a low voice. ” I came to study just like you” ,he replied.

They both studied for some hours. When Nicky became tired and hungry, she packed her books.” Good night” she said to William . “Are you leaving now?Goodnight dear! ” he replied and she left him in the library and went to her hostel.

Nicky had her shower and enjoyed her dinner. As she relaxed to watch her favourite TV series, her phone rang.

Hi , it’s me William , the voice said.

Hello, please which William? , she asked politely.

“Have you forgotten me already? .We have met thrice already. We just met again at the library this evening”he said .

“Oh William! she said .I am sorry. Are you still at the library? , she asked.

“No ,I am on my way home. I just called to know if you got home safely”, he replied. “I did , thank you “,Nicky said to him.

They discussed about her school work, her living experience so far in Aberdeen as well as his work and his on line master’s programme.

” I don’t believe we have been talking for 2 hours. Haven’t you reached home?Nicky asked .

“Really! I have dear but I am still in the car” he replied . “Okay I have to go now because I have an early lecture tomorrow” she said to him .

” Can I call you tomorrow?” he asked with a husky voice . “Sure ,you can”she replied and they said goodbye to each other.